Commentary on The Story Of An Hour Essay

Original work: The Story of an Hour Kate Chopin

Womens Rights in the 19th Century, female oppression in marriages and the entrapment of women within social codes and taboos of the time were the main inspiring streamlines for Kate Chopin to shape out Mrs. Mallard in the Story of an hour, a married woman who died in the lost of the just-found freedom. By revealing the tragedy of the poor matron through an ironical and profound tone, the writer intentionally makes the readers come up with different thoughts about the way she and a majority of women own their life. I myself was trapped in the idea of standing for Womens Right: its like chasing the happiness; everybody, especially women deserves themselves the right to create and enjoy a life of freedom and happiness. Whoever believes in the Declaration of Independence should fight for his own life.

The story begins with the death of Mr. Mallard, and finally fades out with another death: Mrs. Mallards, most considering as a pathetic and controversial death. Some says: you cannot blame God or the person who puts you in a miserable beginning, but you can blame the way you lead yourself to a miserable ending. Comparing to Mrs. Mallards case, it might be a bit limping, but its true that she may have not wished to be born as a girl (so-called the minority gender at the period) and in the time when Womens Rights was not making any account. But she had surely can chose a good husband with an egalitarian mind or at least she could had stood for herself once for all, not just keep silence and remain like a hollow puppet for life. Regardless to the social situation that she lived in, Mrs. Mallards resignation was one of the arrows that pin herself to the pitiful ending.

Living means to choose the way to live. Mrs. Mallard owned her life and has made her choice to be her husbands puppet, which makes she lost it even though she couldnt realize. Deep down inside, she always dreamed to be free, free, free, one the first things she came up with a moment after receiving the bad news; she could always see the new spring symbols outside in the time of chaos: top of tree aquiver, delicious breath of rain, notes of a distance song, patches of blue sky But, she has never fulfilled her dream to live a good life for herself, no hiding who she really is and what she wants to be. May be she had not enough courage and support to do it, or may be the conservative social background then discourages her so harshly; there are a thousand of reasons for her to live like a silhouette. Mrs. Mallards sorrowful dead teaches me a lesson: you just live your life once, so make it yours and live it happily for your own.

Mrs. Mallards death, as mention above, was considered pathetic, controversial and a bit ironic. But, like the Buddhist always said: The death is to free people to the place of bliss. I myself also regard it as a rescue for Mrs. Mallard from the life of a shadow, silently painful; and hopefully, she can fulfill her dream on heaven above and in her next life (if it really exists).

Kate Chopin doesn't take up much space or too much time to tell us this story; its just simply the story of the last hour of Mrs. Mallard's life, the only hour in her life where she can enjoy her freedom and live actually. However, in the few lines she gives us about that hour, we can figure out the tragedy of a women life in the 2nd half of the 19th century and draw out for ourselves a piece of wisdom for life: Life is what you make it, so lets make it rock.